Plus, it just further proved that Denzel Washington gets the best out of Antoine Fuqua's works. He did it with Training Day, and now he's doing it with this. So much so, that we know now have a sequel. I believe this is Washington's first ever sequel. He is known for not doing them, and so it is hard not to ignore this and be intrigued as to what was it about the first one that made Washington come back.
The success and quality of the first installment was plenty for me to be excited for the sequel. That, and the fact that Washington and Fuqua would return.
Now that I've seen it, I felt pretty satisfied with what I saw. It's get into some fun action straight away, and already Washington's charisma has hooked me in.
After that, there is some nice development with a few little stories to keep your eye on and see develop throughout the film. One in particular I feel we stick with most audiences than others. But I feel all will never feel like a drawback or forgetful.
Then once the main story kicks in, it is just one fun action set-piece after another and a fun and exciting finale.
Washington continues to be one of those actors that I feel is incredibly consistent with their choices. Other examples would be Tom Cruise and Jake Gyllenhaal. For the most part, all of his films are solid with some exceptions which are incredible such as Training Day, Philadelphia and Remember The Titans and a few others.
Pedro Pascal did not do much that would make you talk about afterwards. But he does everything to a satsifactory standard.
However, Ashton Sanders did a really good job and has proved to all of us that he was not just a flash in the pan with his efforts in Moonlight last year.
Melissa Leo was good and certainly has one moment that is the best part of the film outside of Washington.
It was nice to see Bill Pullman in this, as I will never forget his role in Independence Day. However this latest project felt a bit wasted and under-used.
To begin with some positive remarks, it's certainly one of the best sequels in the last few years. I don't think it's as fun as the first one and the story does not feel as impactful. But they are all fractionally off its predecessor. So it is most certainly still a good watch and that mix of John Wick and Taxi Driver still works.
I like it that they kept with the low-key tone in terms of what Washington's character is doing. I liked the revenge factor, how it developed and especially how it concluded with an entertaining final act.
This will certainly please fans of Washington. The film depends so much on his charm and magnetic presence. He totally owns it and carries the film beautifully.
The story may be cliched and unoriginal. But it still kept my interest and I was definitely never bored. Fuqua's gritty style fits perfectly with this film as well as the execution of the dialogue.
There are a few sub-plots to keep an eye on. I was fine with that as if they concentrated on just one, it would have dragged massively. So it was nice to see numerous problems are character was facing.
My final thought could well be the decider to go and see this. Don't worry if you have not seen the first Equalizer. There is hardly anything connecting the two and you could get as much from it as people who have watched the first one.
Rating: 7/10
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